Serena Williams may be out, but the richest star in sport has reached the women's quarter-finals of the US Open.
American star Jessica Pegula, 28, toppled two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova to book her place in the last eight of a Slam for the third time this year. She'll now face world No 1 Iga Swiatek in a mouth-watering tie late on Wednesday night.
Not that the world No 8 will be overly concerned about the financial benefits of her best ever run at Flushing Meadows. In fact, the billionaire is simply relieved to be talked about for her tennis: "I have never wanted people to think I was given things," she told reporters. "I think I have definitely earned my stripes in the tennis world. There are people on the outside who maybe don't understand, who make assumptions."
A cool £2.2 million prize is on offer to whoever succeeds Emma Raducanu as champion, a drop in the ocean in comparison to Pegula's family’s £5.8 billion net worth, of which she is a heiress. Her father, Terence, is listed as the 345th richest person in the world.
He made his fortune in multiple ways, initially via natural gas development and now more so from owning multi-million sport franchises. Pegula senior is currently in charge of NFL' s Buffalo Bills and NHL side Buffalo Sabres.
And the while family have undoubtedly benefited from his success. They own £14m superyacht which is called 'Top Five II', that boasts six cabins capable of housing 12 guests. They also own a massive £2.5m gated mansion in Florida.
And for context, Pegula's inherited fortune, as well as her tennis success, has made her three times wealthier than iconic NBA star Michael Jordan. Widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan famously won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls, a story told in the now famous The Last Dance Netflix documentary.
He's since delved into multiple business interests, creating his own Jordan brand and becoming owner of the Charlotte Hornets. According to Forbes, it's all earned him a net worth of £1.6 billion dollars, trailing in the wake of Pegula.
It will be the star's tennis, and not her fortune, under the spotlight when she takes on Swiatek though. The Buffalo-born player will be aiming to reach a Slam semi-final for the first time in her career.
